Zim Online
Tue 23 May 2006
HARARE - Zimbabwe authorities has banned
Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF)
from assisting displaced families at a holding
camp outside Harare after the
international medical aid group issued a
damning report on deteriorating
health conditions at the camp.
The report - which received wide publicity in Zimbabwe's private media
and
abroad last week - said Hopley Farm camp on Harare's southern border had
been hit by an outbreak of scabies, tuberculosis, pneumonia, malaria and
sexually transmitted infections because of squalid conditions at the
camp.
Hopley was set up as a temporary home for thousands of
families left
homeless and without means of livelihood after the government
last year
demolished shantytowns, city backyard cottages and informal
business kiosks
in a controversial urban renewal exercise the United Nations
said left 700
000 people homeless and indirectly affected another 2.4
million people.
"There was a directive from Dr Mungofa
(Stanley) ordering a social
welfare officer, Mr Ezekiel Mpande, to chuck the
guys out with immediate
effect. They have since been booted out of the
camp," said a source, who did
not want to be named.
Mungofa,
who is the Harare health services director and was working
with MSF to
provide health services to victims of the clean-up exercise at
the
settlement, was not available for comment on the matter yesterday.
Mpande, who is in charge of the settlement, referred all questions to
Social
Welfare Minister Nicholas Goche who however could not be reached for
comment.
An official at MSF offices in Harare confirmed that
the aid
organisation had stopped operations at Hopley but refused to comment
further
in line with the organisation's policy that only its director speaks
to the
media.
"It's true but our director Mr Steve Hide is in
Amsterdam for an
urgent meeting. He is the only person who can give a
comment to the press
about our operations here," said the official, who also
refused to be named.
Meanwhile on Thursday last week, angry Hopley
residents besieged
government offices at the camp demanding the return of
MSF. But they were
quickly dispersed by security personnel at the
camp.
In the report MSF said it had treated 5 342 patients between
January
and March this year most of them suffering from skin and respiratory
infections that are associated with a squalid living
environment.
"In the same period, MSF diagnosed 30 malaria cases
and many sexually
transmitted infections, some linked to prostitution which
in turn is partly
caused by lack of food in the settlement," the MSF report
reads in part.
Harare routinely accuses especially Western-based
non-governmental
organisations of using the pretext of carrying out
humanitarian work while
trying to ferment an uprising by Zimbabweans against
President Robert Mugabe
and his government. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Tue
23 May 2006
HARARE - Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai
yesterday left
Harare for the European Union, in what his spokesman William
Bango said was
part of "diplomatic initiative to break the political
impasse" in the
southern African country.
Bango did not say
which countries or European leaders Tsvangirai
planned to meet but sources
told ZimOnline the opposition leader would visit
Sweden among other
countries and was also scheduled to meet top British
officials in
London.
According to our sources, Tsvangirai was also expected to
meet South
African President Thabo Mbeki on his return from Europe. But
Bango said
there were no meetings planned between Tsvangirai and the South
African
leader, who has been involved in attempts to broker talks between
the
opposition and President Robert Mugabe's government.
Bango
said: "Mr Tsvangirai has left the country for Europe where he
will meet
(officials of) European Union-member countries. He will also meet
Zimbabweans in the diaspora to try and find a lasting solution to the
Zimbabwe crisis.
"This is part of the diplomatic initiative
aimed at searching for ways
to break the political impasse prevailing in the
country."
Tsvangirai, who leads the main rump of the splintered
opposition
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party, was at the weekend
confirmed as
the face of the opposition in Zimbabwe after his wing of the
MDC
convincingly won a key parliamentary by-election in Harare's Budiriro
constituency.
The MDC leader has threatened to call mass
protests this winter
against Mugabe and his government who he accuses of
stealing elections since
2000 and of plunging Zimbabwe into its worst food
and economic crisis.
Tsvangirai says the mass protests, whose date
he is still to name, are
meant to force Mugabe to relinquish power to a
government of national unity
to be tasked to write a new and democratic
constitution that would ensure
free and fair elections held under
international supervision.
Mugabe and his government have however
warned Tsvangirai he would be
"dicing with death" if he ever attempted to
instigate a Ukraine-style
popular revolt in Zimbabwe. -
ZimOnline
Zim Online
Tue 23 May 2006
HARARE - Sweden's top envoy to Zimbabwe
has said he fully supports
targeted sanctions slapped on President Robert
Mugabe and his top
lieutenants by the European Union (EU), contradicting
controversial remarks
attributed to him in the state media.
Ambassador Sten Rylander has since assuming his diplomatic duties in
Harare
a few months ago been portrayed by the state media as a "well-known
critic
of the illegal sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe".
However, the Swedish
envoy yesterday claimed "spin-doctors" were
deliberately misquoting him
after he was reported in Zimbabwe's state media
last week as saying the
smart sanctions against Mugabe's hierarchy were
hurting the
poor.
"Once again I am forced to point out that my views have been
deliberately distorted - either by unprofessional reporting in Manica Post,
(a government-owned newspaper) which is the original source, or by 'spin
doctors' in the state-owned media," Rylander said in a
statement.
"Sensible readers . . . will realise that an ambassador
of any EU
member state would never make statements deviating from the common
EU
position. I, for one, and the country I represent, am fully behind this
position as it still stands, including the imposition of targeted sanctions
vis-à-vis Zimbabwe."
He added: "Any attempt to try to divide
the EU or blame poverty in
Zimbabwe on these sanctions will
fail."
The EU imposed targeted visa and financial sanctions against
Mugabe,
his wife Grace, top officials of his government and ruling ZANU PF
party
four years ago as punishment for allegedly stealing elections, failure
to
uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law.
The
United States, Australia and New Zealand have also imposed similar
sanctions
on Zimbabwe's ruling elite.
Mugabe blames the targeted sanctions
for Zimbabwe's worsening economic
conditions, saying the EU was "punishing"
the country at the behest of
Britain after he seized land from white farmers
for redistribution to
landless blacks.
Zimbabwe, with inflation
wreaking havoc at over 1 000 percent, is
battling an acute shortage of
funding and foreign exchange for critical
imports of fuel, power and
drugs.
Rylander said government plans out of the crisis, including
the
National Economic Development Priority Programme (NEDPP), would fail
without
financial support from key donors and multilateral institutions such
as the
International Monetary Fund (IMF).
"There is broad
agreement among Zimbabwe's international partners that
NEDPP is not likely
to succeed unless it tackles, in a decisive and
action-oriented way, the
fundamental underlying problems relating to
political and economic
governance," he said.
"Furthermore, NEDPP is not likely to succeed
unless Zimbabwe again
links up with the international donor community,
including institutions such
as the World Bank and the IMF," added the
Swedish diplomat.
US ambassador Christopher Dell was last year
threatened with expulsion
from Zimbabwe after saying poor policies, not
sanctions, were to blame for
the country's deepening crisis. -
ZimOnline
Zim Online
Tue 23 May
2006
HARARE - A senior defence official on Monday refused to
disclose to
journalists Zimbabwe's losses in men and equipment during a
military
intervention in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a
matter that
has remained a closely guarded secret in Harare.
At
a press conference to launch a joint programme for United Nations
personnel
and Zimbabwe army officers to conduct lectures on peace-keeping
efforts in
various schools, Defence Permanent Secretary Trust Maphosa
rejected
questions by journalists to say how many men and how much equipment
Zimbabwe
lost during the war that began in 1998 and ended in 2003.
"Ask the
DRC government about those figures," Maphosa said curtly
before halting the
media conference today.
Zimbabwe intervened in the DRC in 1998 to
shore up that country's late
leader Joseph Kabila (father of present DRC
President Joseph Kabila) against
an armed rebellion that was backed by
Rwanda and Uganda.
The DRC war, dubbed Africa's First World War, at
one time sucked in
armies from six countries with Zimbabwe, Namibia, Chad,
Angola and Sudan
fighting to defend Kabila's government.
Senior
army officers and other Zimbabwean government officials
reportedly looted
diamonds and timber from the DRC for personal gain.
Repeated probes
by the media about the exact losses incurred by
Zimbabwe in the DRC have met
with no response with Harare touchy over the
issue especially because most
economists attribute Zimbabwe's economic
meltdown partly to the Congo
misadventure which came soon after the
government awarded war veterans
unbudgeted gratuities.
The ZNA has also not released casualty
figures for its involvement in
the Mozambican civil war pitting Fremilo
forces and Renamo rebels. -
ZimOnline
Zim Online
Tue 23 May 2006
HARARE - Zimbabwean police last night set free about 100 National
Constitutional Assembly (NCA) activists who were arrested for demonstrating
in Harare last Thursday after state prosecutors and court officials refused
to handle the matter.
A lawyer representing the activists,
Andrew Makoni told ZimOnline that
the activists who are fighting for a new,
democratic constitution for
Zimbabwe, were finally set free after state
prosecutors refused to
co-operate with the police.
The Attorney
General, Sobhuza Gula-Ndebele had earlier on Monday
ordered the police to
release the demonstrators and proceed by way of
summons.
But
the police refused to release the protesters and sought the
court's
intervention in a bid to detain them in custody.
The NCA has often
clashed with the police after staging demonstrations
in the past. -
ZimOnline
IOL
s Basildon
Peta
May 21 2006 at 01:34PM
UN secretary-general Kofi
Annan's planned visit to Zimbabwe and his
efforts to resolve the crisis in
that country have been stalled by President
Robert Mugabe's refusal to
implement recommendations of a UN special envoy
deployed to investigate last
year's slum clearance which left nearly one
million people
homeless.
Discounting reports this week that Annan was working out
a deal for
Mugabe's exit from power in exchange for guarantees of immunity
from
prosecution against the Zimbabwean leader, authoritative diplomatic
sources
said the main sticking point remained Mugabe's reticence in
implementing the
recommendations of head of UN Habitat Anna Kajumulo
Tibaijuka.
In her report, Tibaijuka fell just short of condemning
Mugabe's
Operation Murambatsvina (Drive Out Trash) as a crime against
humanity. She
nevertheless did not mince her words about the "untold human
suffering and
chaos" that the operation had brought on the poor of
Zimbabwe.
She then went on to list a number of
recommendations which she urged
the Zimbabwe government to implement,
including addressing human rights
issues and addressing the land issue in a
sustainable way.
Annan's failure to coax Mugabe into action means
that successive
efforts by the Southern African Development Community, the
UN, the
Commonwealth and South Africa have failed to help, leaving the
option of an
internal sustained campaign of civil disobedience the only
solution to force
Mugabe into dialogue with opponents.
The
capacity of the opposition to mount such a campaign is, however,
severely
restricted, meaning the Zimbabwe crisis is unlikely to be resolved
in the
foreseeable future. - Independent Foreign Service
This article
was originally published on page 8 of Sunday Argus on May
21, 2006
[ This report does not necessarily
reflect the views of the United Nations]
HARARE, 22 May 2006 (IRIN) -
The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU)
has resolved to embark on
crippling strikes if employers, including the
government, do not award
workers salaries pegged against the bare necessity
of the 'poverty datum
line'.
The resolution was one of several adopted at the labour body's
sixth
congress, held over the weekend. ZCTU president Lovemore Matombo told
IRIN
that workers were now left with no option but to confront the
government.
"We have resolved that the only way the government can
understand the
hardships that workers are experiencing is through street
demonstrations. If
employers do not award workers wages pegged against the
poverty datum line,
we will certainly go into the streets and unleash
crippling demonstrations,"
said Matombo.
Inflation has now shot to
1,042 percent and is still climbing as the
economic meltdown continues,
putting Zimbabwe's rapidly dwindling working
class in an ever more
precarious position.
On average, workers earn about Zim$15 million
(US$148) a month, way below
the Zim$42 million (US$415) an average
Zimbabwean family needs to meet its
most basic monthly
needs.
Opposition MDC faction leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, who cut his
political
teeth as secretary-general of the ZCTU, has called for a "cold
season of
democratic resistance" against living conditions in the
country.
The workers' resolution has added to the growing list of
organisations that
have either supported calls for demonstrations against
the government or
defied the authorities.
Farm workers have announced
that they will down tools next week, after
complaining that their new
employers, mainly senior government and military
officials, were only paying
them a monthly wage of Zim$1.3 million
(US$12.80), while they were demanding
Zim$10 million (US$98) a month.
University and college students have
issued an ultimatum, which expires at
the end of this week, saying that if
the government does not reduce tuition
and examination fees, they too will
take to the streets.
Promise Mkwananzi, president of the Zimbabwe
National Students Union, said
"We will make this country ungovernable if
authorities want to be stubborn.
The new charges at universities virtually
mean only children of the elite
can afford to attend university."
The
Zimbabwe Christian Alliance, a grouping of church organisations, last
week
challenged the authorities when they were barred from leading prayer
processions to remember the victims of Operation Murambatsvina (Drive Out
Filth), a controversial clean-up campaign launched by the government a year
ago that destroyed informal settlements and trading stalls, depriving more
than 700,000 people of homes and livelihoods.
Despite being
interrogated by state security agents, some members of the
clergy managed to
get a High Court order authorising them to march.
But Evans Chipfere, a
lecturer at one of the colleges in the capital,
Harare, doubts whether
people will heed calls to demonstrate. "I think as
things stand, Zimbabweans
have not suffered enough to make them want to take
to the streets. When
things really get tough, they will not need mobilising
by civic society,
students or labour unions - they will just go into the
streets and
demonstrate."
Silibaziso Moyo, who works at commercial bank, agreed.
"When we had the food
riots in the late 1990s they were just spontaneous,
and I believe if we are
to have a similar situation, then I suppose it would
have to happen without
preparation, otherwise the authorities would easily
crush any such
demonstrations."
According to Dumisani Shava, who runs
a little shop in central Harare, few
people have the courage to confront the
army and police. "Our security
forces are well-known for brutally putting
down strikes and demonstrations.
There have always been calls by so many
organisations for stayaways and
strikes, but people have generally ignored
the calls because they know how
brutal our forces can
be."
Secretary-general of the MDC pro-Senate faction, Welshman Ncube,
said
although he wished his anti-Senate colleagues well in mobilising for
the
demonstrations, he doubted that they would take off.
"Remember,
they said they wanted a short and sharp programme for democratic
resistance,
but I see the programme going into the summer and beyond.
Remember, I have
worked with some of them in the past and I doubt if they
will lead from the
front as they claim. Some of the leaders are very big
cowards and are afraid
of leading people in a demonstration."
David Kasirori, an illegal fruit
vendor keeping an eye open for approaching
municipal officers who may want
to seize his goods, believed the calls for
the demonstrations would be
heeded.
"There are a lot of people with a lot of anger inside them," he
warned. "Do
you think I enjoy playing hide and seek with municipal police
who always
confiscate my wares? Do you think people are happy with what is
taking place
in the country? Do you think people are happy that the
government destroyed
their homes and flea markets? This time I believe
people will take to the
streets, and I will be one of those waiting for the
signal to go into the
streets."
Mail and Guardian
Johannesburg, South Africa
22 May
2006 11:57
About 80 families in Bulawayo lost electrical
appliances after a
freak surge of electricity was pumped into their homes,
Harare's Herald
newspaper reported on Monday.
Electrical
equipment such as television sets, decoders, heaters,
DVD players, radios,
stoves and refrigerators were damaged by the power
surge on
Friday.
Eight blocks of the Mpopoma South Flats and a few
houses near
the West Commonage police station were
affected.
"The voltage was just too high because my stove
turned red hot
in a few seconds," said resident Paulos Ncube, whose
television, radio and
stove were damaged.
"Each household
is supposed to receive 250 volts of electricity
but I think we were supplied
... with as much as 1 000 volts that day."
Ncube said light
bulbs also blew up as a result of the high
voltage.
Another resident, Juliet Dumani, said the fault could have been
caused by
poor workmanship by workers who repaired a faulty substation.
"Those who were outside when the gadgets were blown are saying
there were
some sparks at the substation. The property was damaged a few
seconds after
the sparks were seen," she said.
Officials of the power
utility Zesa could not be reached for
comment. - Sapa
May 22, 2006
By Tagu
Mkwenyani
Harare (AND) The Zimbabwe Election Support Network has
called for an
overhaul of the country's voters roll which has been heavily
criticised by
opposition parties.
Commenting on the Budiriro by
election won by Emmanuel Chisvuure of
the anti-senate faction of the MDC,
The Zimbabwe Election Support Network
(ZESN) also urged authorities to
intensify voter education in preparation
for future elections.
"The network believes this can be comprehensively done with the
involvement
of all political parties, civic organisations as well as the
ZEC.
"In addition, ZESN also re-emphasises the need for an
overhaul of the
voters' roll, which the network believes, is in shambles and
that an
independent body in charge of the running of elections in Zimbabwe
should do
this exercise," said ZESN which monitors election process in
Zimbabwe.
The organisation said several people had been turned away
at the
polls. Its observers established that most of those turned away were
alleged
to be of an alien origin, while others were turned away due to the
lack of
proper identification particulars.
Some of these people
brought drivers' licences which do not indicate
proof of Zimbabwean
citizenry. Some voters were dismayed to find out that
they could not vote in
the parliamentary by-election, and yet they had voted
in the last 2005
parliamentary election.
"This clearly showed that there was
inadequate voter information and
education in the constituency, prior to the
parliamentary by-election." Said
ZESN.
Harare Bureau
Sunday News, Zimbabwe
From
Hebert Zharare and Dumisani Nsingo in Hwange
THE Government plans
to increase the country's police force from the current
23 000 to about 50
000 and the Ministry of Home Affairs has already received
$15 trillion to
finance the operations of the force, an official has said.
The Ministry of
Home Affairs had applied for about $21 trillion to finance
the operations of
all its departments, to ensure a successful policing of
the nation, but only
$15 trillion was released.
Speaking during the tour of Hwange Police Station
in Matabeleland North
province, the Minister of Home Affairs, Cde Kembo
Mohadi, said part of the
allocated $15 trillion would be used to improve and
strengthen the police
force.
"We have since sought for $15 trillion (from
the Government) for the upkeep
of officers and 100 percent expansion of the
force through recruitment of
officers," Cde Mohadi said.
He said that for
the police force to fully combat all forms of crime,
including high profile
ones in the country, there was need to meet the
internationally accepted
police officers-people ratio.
Cde Mohadi embarked on a tour of all police
stations, immigration offices
and Registrar General offices in Matabeleland
North province last week.
His tour started with immigration offices, police
stations and registry
offices in Victoria Falls on Wednesday. On Thursday,
Cde Mohadi visited
Kazungula immigration offices, the horn of the country
where Zambia,
Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia meet, before proceeding to
Kazungula Police
Station.
The deputy national police spokesperson, Chief
Superintendent Oliver
Mandipaka yesterday said Zimbabwe's force was
short-staffed as it stood at
slightly above 23 000. He said the recommended
police to people ratio
internationally was 1:500 yet in Zimbabwe, the figure
stood at around 1:2
000.
"The recruitment of police officers is an
on-going process and I cannot
disclose when it will close. We are just
recruiting as long one comes with
the appropriate qualifications, proof of
identity and other necessary
details. Normally, the standard ratio
recommended is one police officer to
500 people and in Zimbabwe the ratio
stands at 1:2 000 or more, which serves
to tell that the police are being
out-numbered by the people," said Chief
Supt Mandipaka.
According to
latest census figures, Zimbabwe's population is pegged at
around 12
million.
The inadequate number of law enforcers in the country has resulted
in
massive workload and ineffective carrying out of duties by the depleted
force, resulting in numerous crimes and criminals going undetected
especially in small towns and growth points.
Cde Mohadi said part of the
funding would go towards the purchase of
high-powered vehicles and other
equipment, a move aimed at improving
mobility and efficiency in carrying out
of duties. He said that there was
need for the force to broker a deal with a
reputable car manufacturer for
the purchase of reliable and durable
vehicles.
He, however, could not disclose how many cars were going to be
purchased
immediately to boost the current fleet the police have.
"We
have noticed that police stations throughout the country are
experiencing
problems of mobility and we are looking forward to acquiring
durable
vehicles for the force to carry out its duties effectively," said
Cde
Mohadi.
The minister, however, hailed the force for managing to stabilise the
rate
of crimes despite various difficult challenges the officers were facing
that
included the unavailability of sufficient resources for the law
enforcers to
fully carry out their duties.
Cde Mohadi said the force
should strive to uphold their relations and
co-operation with neighbouring
countries in a bid to avert the rate of
crimes committed by different
nationalities.
This comes in the wake of rampant cattle rustling and poaching
activities
instigated by Zambians in Hwange over the years and cases of
Zimbabweans
illegally crossing borders to South Africa and Botswana.
The
disbursed funds would also enable the Registrar General acquire
stationery
for passports and other modern equipment meant to assist the
department in
the speed processing of identification documents.
The department is currently
facing an an acute shortage of foreign currency
to purchase material to
print passports resulting in delays in the issuing
of the document.
Unconfirmed reports say the Registrar General Office has
since stopped
issuing out ordinary passing except emergency ones due to
shortage of
materials.
On Friday, Cde Mohadi visited the Registrar General's offices in
Hwange, the
local museum and ended his tour at Hwange police
station.
Deputy officer commanding Hwange District, Superintendent Harry
Musiiwa told
the Minister that there were over 110 000 people in the
district against a
300 strong police force. He said the major problem the
police were facing
was cattle rustling by mainly Zambians, adding that on
average, 283 cases
were reported every month.
"The major problem we are
facing is cattle rustling by some armed bandits
who are coming from Zambia.
However, the situation is under control now
because there is good response
from the Zambians. In most cases, the
affected areas are Binga and Jambezi.
Some people from Zimbabwe have
positively identified 30 cattle and we have
managed to bring into the
country 26 and the other four could not fit in the
lorry that we used.
"The other problem we face is that the villages in Zambia
are widely spaced
and in some cases we fail to identify all the cattle. Some
cattle have only
V brands and they can be changed to M. If we were to take
the villagers to
Zambia, chances are high that we would bring in more
cattle," he said.
Business Report
May 22, 2006
By
From Sapa-AFP
Harare - Zimbabwean farm workers said on Saturday they
would take to the
streets to protest against low wages and worsening working
conditions, while
the main labour union warned it would resort to "protests
of a different
nature" to press for higher pay.
"Farm workers are the
least paid in the country and their working conditions
continue to
deteriorate," Gertrude Hambira, the secretary general of the
General
Agricultural and Plantation Workers' Union of Zimbabwe, told
delegates at
the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Union (ZCTU) congress in Harare.
"In two
weeks we will be calling for job action because we cannot take this
any
more. We will need your support."
She said the lowest-paid farm
worker was earning Z$1.2 million (R75), and
the majority of workers were
employed by black farmers allocated land under
Zimbabwe's controversial land
reforms.
"If we ask for a living wage, we are accused of derailing the
land reform
programme."
ZCTU president Lovemore Matombo said that the
labour movement would continue
to press for wages above the poverty
threshold, which stood at Z$38 million.
Zimbabwe's galloping inflation
reached a record high of 1 042.9 percent last
month.
May 21,
2006
By Andnetwork .com
Prominent Zimbabwean church
leaders are expected to meet President
Robert Mugabe this week to discuss
Zimbabwe's deteriorating political and
economic situation.
This comes as pressure mounts at home and abroad for President Mugabe
to
quit. The Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) and the ALL African Council
of
churches representatives are due to meet Mugabe on Africa Day, 25 May.
The
ZCC has of late criticised government policies which have seen inflation
surging to 1042% last week, the worst in the world.
The meeting
has the blessing of the World Council of Churches, which
is reportedly
deeply concerned about the plight of ordinary Zimbabweans.
Sources
said ZCC president Bishop Peter Nemapare, his deputy Bishop
Sebastian Bakare
and secretary-general Densen Mafinyane, as well as AACC
secretary-general
Bishop Mvume Dandala and colleagues, would meet Mugabe in
a bid to find a
solution to Zimbabwe's simmering seven-year crisis.
Nemapare
confirmed the meeting but refused to give details, saying it
was a "courtesy
call on the president".
Mail and Guardian
Fanuel Jongwe | Harare, Zimbabwe
22 May
2006 07:15
As Zimbabwe reels under a world-record inflation
of 1 042,9%,
many are forsaking meals and walking or cycling for scores of
kilometers to
work every day in a tortuous battle to
survive.
When the clock strikes one, John Mafose joins others
filing out
of factories in the Graniteside industrial area on Harare's
southern fringes
to a plot where workers gather during the lunch break to
while away time.
Mafose (58) goes to an open area and lies on
his empty belly to
take a nap.
"We come here to spend the
lunch hour, it has become our way of
life," Mafose, who works in a furniture
factory, told Agence France-Presse,
as he rises to return to
work.
"We have jobs but the majority of us can no longer
afford to
feed the body that works. If I were to count how many workers can
still
afford to buy lunch, I would say three out of ten," he
said.
More often than not, when the factory siren sounds to
signal the
end of the lunch hour workers return to their stations on empty
stomachs.
According to a recent report by aid groups,
families are
resorting to skipping lunch or breakfast.
And people who would normally bus to work are now walking or
cycling. Reason
Mutawu (36) cycles nearly 55km a day to work and back as he
cannot afford
the bus fare of Zim$140 000 ($1,4) per trip.
"When I started
cycling work early last year, things were
beginning to get tight but not as
tight as they are now," said the father of
three who works for a beverage
manufacturer.
"The bus fare had just gone from five to seven
dollars and I
felt it was too much. Now it's more then ten times higher and
more people
are cycling."
To supplement his income,
Mutawu covertly sells vegetables on
the streets during weekends, often
playing a cat-and-mouse game with the
police as street vending has been
outlawed since last year as part of a
controversial urban clean-up
drive.
Mutawu cannot remember when he last had savings in the
bank.
"Even if I had money to spare, I would not take it to the bank because
by
the time you make a withdrawal it will not buy as much as it would have
bought."
"What's happening because of the
hyperinflationary environment
is that people's disposable income is not
enough to get them basics let
alone savings," Best Doro, an economist with a
banking group said.
"The majority are literally living from
hand to mouth. Not many
families are able to save these days. Although I
cannot give figures I can
say there are not that many who are still able to
put aside savings."
An average family of six needs at least
Zim$41-million ($405)
for food to last a month, according to the Consumer
Council of Zimbabwe
(CCZ) but the average worker earns
Zim$14-million.
Collin Gwiyo, deputy secretary of the
Zimbabwe Congress of Trade
Unions (ZCTU) said the plight of the workers
would only be alleviated if
employers increase salaries every
month.
"Our view is that employers should adjust salaries
every month
as opposed to after six months," Gwiyo said.
"With four-digit inflation for many people life has become a
daily struggle.
Things are tough for workers and for pensioners whose pay is
not
inflation-adjusted, even worse."
Zimbabwe is going through
the seventh year of economic recession
characterised by four-digit
inflation, shortages of basic foodstuffs while
at least 80% of the
population lives below the poverty threshold.
President
Robert Mugabe, in power since Zimbabwe's independence
from Britain in 1980,
blames the country's woes on Western countries such as
Britain and the
United States which he accuses of plotting to bring about
his downfall. -
AFP
People's Daily
Prices of some commodities in the major cities in
Zimbabwe have begun
taking a downward trend as others are stabilizing.
Economists said on Sunday
that this indicates that inflation will start
going down in the next few
months.
Mealie-meal, the main staple
food for most of the Zimbabweans, has
recorded the biggest price reduction
with the 10 kilogram packet of the
roller meal brand, which was being sold
for an average of 400,000 Zimbabwe
dollars at the beginning of the year, now
being sold for between 180,000 and
200,000 Zimbabwe dollars in retail
outlets in Harare, the country's capital
city.
At Gumba's
Supermarket in the city, the 10 kilogram roller meal brands
were being sold
for 190,000 Zimbabwe dollars. (One U.S. dollar equals about
101,000 Zimbabwe
dollars.)
The reduction in mealie-meal prices has been attributed
to increased
maize deliveries to the GRain Marketing Board following a good
summer
cropping season, which saw farmers recording bumper
harvests.
Some imported cooking oil brands are costing an average
of 600, 000
Zimbabwe dollars per two-liter bottle while local manufactured
brands are
costing over 1 million Zimbabwe dollars. This might force local
producers to
reduce their prices to remain competitive, the economists
said.
Fuel is another commodity has seen a steady decline in prices
as
petroleum products have flooded the market following the deregulation of
the
oil industry.
From a peak of 250,000 Zimbabwe dollars per
liter of diesel and petrol
early in the year, one can now buy the same
quantity for as low as 175,000
Zimbabwe dollars.
Vegetable
prices are also tumbling as the market is now well supplied
with fresh
produce.
But at the same time prices of some beverages such as beer
and soft
drinks went up last week. Prices of other goods and services are
still going
up.
Economic commentator David Govere said people
should not expect
inflation to go down immediately, because there are still
distortions in
coal and power supplies.
Zimbabwe's annual rate
of inflation for the month of April has reached
an all time high of 1042.9
percent, gaining 129.3 percentage points on the
March figure of 913.6
percent, according to the Central Statistical Office.
Analysts had
long predicted that the figure for April would pass the
1,000 percent mark
and continue to rise until the end of the second quarter.
The increase meant
that prices of goods and services had increased 11 times
from last
April.
"Inflation might begin to see a downward trend from the end
of August
this year because of the anticipated reduction of food imports
following a
good agricultural season," Govere said.
Claude
Maredza, the chief executive of the Small Enterprises
Development
Corporation, said the inflation issue could be addressed if
measures
prescribed under the National Economic Development Priority
Program, which
has been launched by the government.
Maredza, also an economist,
said the country should focus on
generating more foreign currency through
new initiatives such as adding
value to products and boosting
tourism.
Source: Xinhua
May 22, 2006.
By
ANDnetwork .com
Two moderate earthquakes measuring about 4.0 on the
Richter scale hit
Zimbabwe's Mashonaland east province at around midnight on
Sunday.
Acting director of the meteorological department in the
country,
Hector Chikowore, said the epicenters of these earthquakes were in
Wedza
area, near Nyamudzi river.
He said the first earthquake,
measuring 3.9 on the Richter scale,
occurred at 23:55 and the second one,
measuring about 4.0, hit at 00:27.
Chikowore said tremors were felt
in Harare, Shurugwi, Mutare and more
reports were expected from other areas.
No notable damage to property or
loss of life was reported from the
area.
"Reports from our office in Wedza show that there was no
damage to
property and no one died from the earthquake," said Chikowore,
adding that
investigations were still underway to establish the cause of the
earthquake.
Meanwhile, the public has expressed shock at the
occurrence which
comes barely three months after the country was affected by
strong tremors,
which measured between 7 and 7.5 on the Richter scale,
emanating from an
earthquake in Mozambique.
The tremours were
also felt in neighbouring South Africa, Swaziland
and Malawi.
Source : UPI
May 22,
2006
By ANDnetwork .com
ZIMBABWEAN police believe
about 500 head of cattle and 200 goats were
stolen from Zimbabwe by
cross-border cattle rustlers and driven into
neighbouring Zambia, a senior
police officer has said.
n an interview, the officer commanding
Matabeleland North province,
Senior Assistance Bothwell Mugariri said a
major operation to recover the
stolen livestock would be launched soon. He
said police authorities in
Zimbabwe and Zambia were preparing for a major
joint operation to fight
cross border crime, having scored significant
successes in previous smaller
joint operations aimed at flushing out and
arresting cattle rustlers. "We
are working with our counterparts (from
Zambia) because we share a common
border and have been sharing crime
intelligence as members of SARPCCO
(Southern Africa Regional Police Chiefs
Cooperation Organisation), which is
aimed at fighting crime in the region,"
said Senior Asst Comm Mugariri.
"Through our intelligence, we know the areas
where our livestock is and we
are preparing to go into those areas."
Recently, police officers from
Zimbabwe and Zambia embarked on a successful
joint operation in Kalomo,
which led to the recovery of some stolen cattle.
A total of 14 villagers
living in areas near the border managed to
positively identify 30 head of
cattle, while 26 beasts were auctioned. The
officer commanding crime in the
province, Assistant Commissioner Edward
Mbewe, said police officers from the
two countries had embarked on two
successful joint investigations this year
in January and last month. Both
operations led to the arrest of five
suspects and the recovery of several
head of cattle. Cattle rustling has
been one of the crimes of concern in
Matabeleland North as scores of
villagers living in the Zambezi valley have
lost hundreds of cattle worth
billions of dollars to criminals over the last
few years. Between October
2004 and April 2005, 275 head of cattle worth
about $5 billion and 175 goats
were stolen. Most of the livestock was stolen
in Jambezi and Binga.
-Herald-
May 22, 2006
By
ANDnetwork .com
TWO officials at Bindura University of Science
Education were last
week jailed for stealing computer accessories worth $180
million following
the burning-down of the technology centre at the
institution a fortnight
ago.
Newton Chirova (34), employed as
director of works, and Virimayi
Kiwiti (age not given), the catering
supervisor, were sentenced to 14 months
and 18 months respectively by
Bindura magistrate Miss Charity Maunga. The
State case was that the two took
advantage of the rowdy demonstrations over
allowances by students at the
institution and stole two computer central
processing units (CPUs), a
keyboard, mouse and two speakers before the
building was gutted down by
fire. Chirova and Kiwiti then made a report that
the computer accessories
had been destroyed in the fire, but further
investigations by the police
revealed that the pair had stolen the
accessories. One CPU was discovered in
Harare while the other accessories
were found in Bindura. Meanwhile,
Mashonaland Central provincial
spokesperson Inspector Michael Munyikwa said
they were looking for students
Givemore Chari, whose address is 30 Canon
Mhlanga Road, Mbare; Promise
Mkwananzi of 9 Goodwood Close, Waterfalls or
57740 New Lobengula, Bulawayo;
and one Tineyi, whose address was not given.
Chari was on suspension while
Mkwananzi is a former University of Zimbabwe
student and president of the
Zimbabwe National Students' Union (Zinasu).
Twenty-five other students who
were arrested on allegations of starting the
fire that destroyed property
valued at $250 billion are out on $1 million
bail each.
-Herald-
Business Day
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HARARE
- Former Ethiopian strongman Mengistu Haile Mariam, who lives in
reclusive
but comfortable exile in Zimbabwe, faces a key supreme court
verdict
tomorrow on charges related to his brutal 17-year rule.
Ethiopia's
supreme court, which has been trying him in absentia, is due to
deliver its
verdict tomorrow on charges he killed thousands of people during
his rule,
which began with the overthrow of emperor Haile Selassie in 1974.
He and
other members of a notoriously brutal military junta are accused of
killing
of more than 1000 people in the so-called Red Terror purges,
including
former emperor Haile Selassie, who he ousted in 1974.
Ethiopia's high
court said it would also rule on the same day on genocide
charges against
about 100 of Mengistu's followers. The co-accused include
former prime
minister Fikre Selassie Wogderesse, former vice-president
Fissiha Desta and
about 40 other top officials from the Mengistu era who
have been in prison
awaiting a verdict since 1992.
Mengistu, in exile for 15
years, is treated as an honoured guest by
President Robert Mugabe's
government, which holds him up as one of the
champions of the country's
1970s liberation war.
Officially, Mengistu and his family stay in a
government villa in Harare's
plush Gunhill district, behind a high security
wall guarded round the clock
by army and police units.
But foreign
diplomatic sources believe the former Ethiopian ruler carries a
gun and
moves around between a number of safe houses, and has his own
properties,
including some farms.
"He is living a very, very comfortable life, a
luxurious life. But the
security makes it the luxury of a bunker," one
western diplomat said.
Little is known about Mengistu's life behind the
walls, including how many
people live with him, how he spends his time, who
his friends are and
whether he gets visitors such as Zimbabwe's
president.
Security around Mengistu was increased in the mid-1990s
after two Eritreans
tried to assassinate him after ambushing him on an
afternoon stroll near the
villa.
Mengistu has said he has no regrets
about his rule. Reuters
Mining Weekly
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zimbabwe gold production fell by a third in the January-to-April
period as
producers of the key foreign currency earner battled a worsening
economic
crisis, official statistics showed.
Zimbabwe produced 2 804,6 kg of
the precious metal during the first
four months of 2006, a 33 percent fall
compared with 4 162 kg during the
same period last year, figures released by
the Chamber of Mines showed.
Officials attributed the decline to
the closure of small gold mines
due to foreign currency shortages that also
hurt their ability to import
equipment and other supplies.
"Those who have suffered most are the small-scale gold producers who
do not
operate foreign currency accounts," David Murangari, Chamber of Mines
chief
executive said in a speech.
"The severe foreign currency shortage
on the official market meant
that the small scale miners and custom millers
were not able to obtain
imported inputs from mining suppliers," he
added.
Gold is a key foreign currency earner for Zimbabwe's
struggling
economy and accounts for about 52 percent of total mineral
production and a
third of export earnings.
But the sector has
been hit by mine closures in the last five years,
as operating costs soared
in a recession marked by triple-digit inflation
and shortages of fuel and
foreign currency.
Zimbabwe gold producers surrender their gold to
sole purchaser and
refiner, Fidelity, a wholly owned central bank firm, and
are paid mostly in
Zimbabwe dollars. Under the arrangement, they get only 40
percent in hard
currency.
In 2005 gold deliveries fell to 14
023 kg from 21 330 kg the previous
year. The government says the commodity
has been finding its way to the
black market, where earnings are higher, and
subsequently smuggled to
neighbouring countries.
The mining
body also reported a decline in production for other
minerals such as nickel
and ferrochrome, with platinum recording the only
increase.
Nickel output was down 11 percent to 2 043 kg during the first quarter
of
this year while high carbon ferrochrome production tumbled 10 percent
from
60 319,7 kg to 54 557 kg after increasing 23 percent during the whole
of
2005.
[ This report does not necessarily
reflect the views of the United Nations]
JOHANNESBURG, 22 May 2006
(IRIN) - A cholera epidemic has flared
sporadically in Zimbabwe since late
last year, but shortages of drugs, staff
and serviceable vehicles have
prevented the authorities from stamping it
out.
The latest outbreak,
reported over the weekend, has claimed 15 lives and
infected 45 people in
the northeastern town of Guruve, 150km from the
capital, Harare. A senior
disease control officer told IRIN the numbers
affected could be much higher,
as health teams have been unable to cover the
more remote parts of the
district.
"The problems we face in Guruve are exactly what we have
experienced in all
the other areas where cholera outbreaks have been
reported since January.
There is a crisis in the supply of medicines and
essential drugs, personnel,
and even cars to get to places we believe need
thorough check-ups," said the
official, who asked not to be
named.
According to Portia Mangazira, acting coordinator of the ministry
of
health's epidemiology unit, the situation in Guruve was under control,
and
prevention teams were being dispatched around the district. "We have
been
responding to outbreaks since the beginning of the year and they have
all
been contained, although the recurrence rate remains high," said
Manangira.
Health Minister Dr David Parirenyatwa admitted that foreign
currency
shortages and an exodus of specialist staff meant his ministry
faced huge
challenges in running an effective disease control
unit.
"Fuel and transport problems have also crippled a lot of control
operations.
However, we have managed to deploy the few resources [we have]
with some
effect over disease-hit areas," Parirenyatwa told IRIN.
He
acknowledged the reduced capacity of the disease control unit as a result
of
Zimbabwe's long-running economic crisis and the exodus of skilled staff.
"The rate at which the diseases have been recurring is proof that we are
failing in total epidemic control. A lot of work needs to done in rebuilding
the unit, but we are not sure if we are going to be able to attract and
retain highly qualified staff," Parirenyatwa said.
Blessing Chebundo,
chairman of the parliamentary portfolio committee on
health and child
welfare, said the failure of disease control mirrored the
rot in the entire
public healthcare system.
"The problem at disease control has been
growing with the crisis since 2000.
Every year we remind the government
about the need to replenish the health
sector, but the usual excuses are
budgetary constraints, and promises of
reforms that never work out or pay.
The problem is with government, not the
ministry or an isolated department,"
Chebundo told IRIN.
Since the start of the rainy season in December,
hundreds of people have
died from recurrent cholera and malaria outbreaks.
Six years of unrelieved
economic crisis, triggered by the government's
land-reform programme and
policy blunders, have crippled Zimbabwe's social
welfare system, previously
one of the best on the continent.
May 22 2006 at
04:20PM
Harare - Zimbabwe on Monday dismissed claims that the
jailed alleged
mastermind behind a coup plot in Equatorial Guinea two years
ago was set to
be extradited soon to the oil-rich central African
country.
Simon Mann was given a seven-year jail term, later reduced
to four
years, on charges of breaching firearms legislation after he and 60
other
men were arrested when their plane landed at Harare international
airport in
March 2004.
The planeload of men were allegedly to
pick up weapons that Zimbabwean
authorities say were to be used to overthrow
President Teodoro Obiang Nguema
in Malabo.
Equatorial Guinean
prosecutor general Jose Olo Obono said Friday that
Zimbabwean authorities
"have told us that within two months, the extradition
process (for Mann)
will be in place."
Zimbabwean attorney general Sobusa
Gula Ndebele told AFP however that
"we signed a broad agreement with
Equatorial Guinea authorities but I am not
aware of the extradition
arrangement."
He was referring to the agreement signed last week by
himself and
Obono on behalf of the two countries, which sought to promote
co-operation
to promote justice, equality and the fight against
crime.
Zimbabwe's Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa also said he
was unaware
of plans to send Mann, a former member of Britain's crack
Special Air
Service (SAS) military unit, to Malabo.
"I never
met the prosecutor general from Equatorial Guinea when he
came here last
week, but I do not know of such an arrangement having taken
place,"
Chinamasa said.
Most of the suspected mercenaries were released
from a Zimbabwean
prison last year, but Mann remains in a Harare
jail.
Eight other men are to go on trial in South Africa on the
country's
tough anti-mercenary legislation introduced in 1998 to stamp out
mercenary
activity and shed the country's reputation as a springboard for
soldiers of
fortune in coup-prone Africa.
In Malabo, five of
the eight South Africans convicted over the
attempted coup remain in prison,
including their leader Nick du Toit, who is
serving a 34-year jail term for
attempting to overthrow Obiang, who himself
came to power in a coup in
1979.
The case exploded across the world's front pages following
the arrest
in Cape Town 2004 of Mark Thatcher, the wealthy son of former
British prime
minister Margaret Thatcher.
Last year Mark
Thatcher was convicted by a South African court for
helping finance the
failed coup in Equatorial Guinea. He was fined some ?400
000 (about
R3,4-million) and given a suspended four-year prison sentence.
Thatcher denied the charges but admitted that he was friends with
Mann. -
Sapa-AFP
Business Report
May 22,
2006
By Antony Sguazzin
Johannesburg - Zimbabwe's central bank
raised its key lending rate by 50
percentage points as it tries to stop the
world's highest inflation rate
from rising further.
The overnight
interest rate was increased to 850 percent, the Harare-based
Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe said on its website on Monday.
Inflation in the southern African
nation, which is in its seventh year of a
recession, surged to a record 1
043 percent in April. Central bank Governor
Gideon Gono said on January 24
the inflation rate would peak at between 700
percent and 800 percent, before
slowing to between 220 percent and 230
percent by the end of the
year.
Zimbabwe's central bank last increased its lending rate by
50 percentage
points on April 25, adding to a 100 percentage-point increase
a month
earlier.
Economic growth in the country will probably
contract 4,7 percent this year,
after shrinking 6,5 percent in 2005, the
International Monetary Fund said in
its World Economic Outlook report on
April 19. - Bloomberg
BBC
Zimbabwe is in economic
meltdown, with the world's highest rate of
inflation of 1,000% and chronic
unemployment. Here, Hope explains why she
left the capital, Harare, to move
onto land seized from white farmers and
redistributed by the
government.
"I came here to the farm in 2001.
I used
to work as a maid. In the past I could feed my family, but in
the end I
couldn't feed them.
I feared for my grandchildren - what could I
give them?
So when I heard about land being given to people I
thought it was wise
to go.
I heard about the land resettlement
programme and said: "Let's go and
farm and we could produce for our
upkeep".
Although there is electricity in the city, what is
electricity when
you are hungry, how can you watch TV when you are
hungry?
I didn't want to be forced to do illegal things to survive,
so I
decide to take up farming.
I am an able-bodied person
who can work for herself. God gave me
energy to work and I will work for my
family.
But it's been difficult to make it because we don't have
anyone
helping us. We live in fear of being evicted at any
time.
We were confident the government would come to our rescue and
help us
start.
But now nothing has come of it. We had hopes the
government would
resettle us into properly laid-out plots. We want to farm
but we lack the
support.
Well-fed
We have suffered
shortages of seed, fertiliser - although from what I
have harvested, I can
manage to keep some as seed for the next season.
We will continue
to ask our MP to ask for help.
Our MP, Patrick Zhuwawo [President
Robert Mugabe's nephew], has
promised us three bags of fertiliser. We hope
he can deliver on his promise.
Sometimes we have to forgo the
things we like. We have to go without
sugar, for example.
There
is no-one to give us loans. We don't have the papers to enable
us to get
loans, so in the end we look to the heavens for help.
But at least
here with the little we have, we can look after the
children better than
those who remained in the city.
Look at my son now - he looks fit
and healthy because he has food
coming in from the farm.
Eviction threat
But the problem is that there are people who want
to evict us. It
makes us so sad.
As I see it we should sit down
and talk. But we won't move.
Even if that person has a gun, we
won't move. He can shoot, we won't
move.
Why should people from
the city, those who declined to take up land
when it was offered five years
ago, come and disturb our peace?
I am also a person even if I am
poor.
These people should go back to whoever gave them the
permission to
come here, and tell them there are people on the farm
already.
There is hunger in the city. Our husbands don't have jobs.
Our
children are unemployed.
My son finished high school but is
out of a job. So what do we do to
survive?
I can't go back to
the city. We would end up stealing - it's at times
like that when you find
old ladies going into pubs and doing bad things.
God has reason and
purpose for our suffering. He will bless us one
day.
I mustn't
steal to survive. So my family and I need the farm to live
on. "
Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone)
May
19, 2006
Posted to the web May 22, 2006
Fraser
Mpofu
Harare
The trial runs that are expected to lead to the return of
the commercial
passenger rail service between Francistown and Bulawayo will
be launched on
Monday next week.
This comes after protracted
negotiations between Botswana Railways and the
National Railways of Zimbabwe
for the resumption of the once popular service
that was discontinued on
January 1, 2000. Officials from both Botswana
Railways (BR) and National
Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) confirmed that the
passenger service would most
likely be re-introduced early next month. Jane
Golubane, a senior BR
official recently said the disagreements that forced
the suspension of the
train have now been resolved. She added that the rail
utilities were looking
for a date on which ministers of transport from both
countries would be free
so that they attend the launch. Fanuel Masikati, the
NRZ public relations
manager says during the trial run, the train will leave
the Bulawayo Station
on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 9am, arriving in
Francistown at about
1455 hours. It will also leave Francistown at 0900
hours on Tuesdays,
Thursdays and Saturdays, arriving in Bulawayo at 1455
hours.
"The
trai n will consist of eight standard class coaches for travellers,
similar
to the ones used on the Bulawayo-Harare and Harare-Mutare routes. It
will
have on-board entertainment," said Masikati. He says that during the
trial
runs, the travelling public can use the trains. After the tests, the
service
will be launched. The service, which is likely to ease congestion at
the
Ramakgwebana Border Post, was stopped after differences on immigration
issues. Thousands of Zimbabwean informal cross-border traders who regularly
travel between Bulawayo and Francistown to sell or buy wares in Botswana
have welcomed the proposal to bring back the service. However, when it was
announced a few months ago that the rail service was to be re-introduced,
road passenger operators on the Francistown-Ramakgwebana route feared that
passengers would leave them for the train.
Zimbabwean commuter
operators on the Bulawayo-Plumtree route also oppose the
train service. The
resumption cements the growing relati onship between NRZ
and BR, which also
co-operate in other areas. For example, the NRZ always
repairs BR wagons at
its workshops in Bulawayo. Masikati said the train
service would offer
Batswana and Zimbabwean travellers an alternative and
cheaper mode of
transport and also promote the socio-economic co-operation
between the two
countries.
22 May 2006 18:11:06 GMT
Source:
IRIN
JOHANNESBURG, 22 May (IRIN) - South Africa is recognised as a
critical
player not only in Africa but also in the developing world, so
President
Thabo Mbeki's two-day visit to the United Kingdom, which kicks off
on
Wednesday, is set to cover a wide range of issues.
Ronnie Mamoepa,
spokesman for the department of foreign affairs, said talks
between Mbeki
and Prime Minister Tony Blair would centre on the "African
agenda of
development", and cover the situation in the Great Lakes region,
Sudan, the
World Trade Organisation's (WTO) Doha round of negotiations, the
restructuring of the UN and the Middle East peace process. He would also
lobby for a diplomatic solution to Iran's standoff with members of the
international community over uranium enrichment.
"South Africa
regards the UK [United Kingdom] as its strategic ally and [the
UK] is a
natural entry point [for South Africa] to lobby for support within
the G8 or
the UN Security Council," according to Prince Mashele, an analyst
with the
Institute for Security Studies (ISS), a Pretoria-based think-tank.
The UK
is committed to conflict resolution in Africa and spearheaded the
recent
debt cancellation campaign, which provided relief to 19 countries,
giving
the developing world a perceived ally among rich countries.
As a sign of
its commitment to the continent, South Africa, which has
allocated 35
percent of its 2006/07 foreign affairs spending to Africa, also
increased
its contribution to the African Union (AU) budget from about eight
percent
to 15 percent. Besides its involvement in peace efforts in Burundi
and Cote
d'Ivoire, it has also been actively involved in peacekeeping
missions in
several African conflicts, including the Democratic Republic of
Congo.
The UK has in turn also played a significant role in
supporting AU peace
efforts in Darfur, Sudan's remote western region, where
3.6 million people
have been affected by conflict.
According to Henri
Boschoff, a military analyst at the ISS, the UK "provides
not only financial
support to the AU's peacekeeping mission in Darfur, but
also helps it with
expertise in the form of [security] specialists - the two
countries [South
Africa and the UK] will probably review the situation in
Darfur and the AU's
peacekeeping role."
In a recent article, Blair said Britain needed to do
more to "beef up" the
AU's outgunned and underequipped mission in Darfur.
The EU has committed
itself to footing the bill for the AU's 20,000 strong
permanent peacekeeping
mission to help resolve conflicts and crises in the
continent, which should
be up and running by the end of this
year.
Blair could also raise the crisis in Zimbabwe during his talks with
Mbeki,
said Mashele. According to government insiders, South Africa has
burnt its
fingers trying to resolve the situation in Zimbabwe in a series of
unsuccessful attempts to mediate between the ruling ZANU-PF and the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change. Zimbabwe is battling with an
economic and humanitarian crisis, brought on largely by its own
policies.
By Dr Stanford Mukasa
22 May
2006
In today's Letter from America, Dr. Stan Mukasa analyzes the
implications of the election results in Budiriro.
..........................
While it had not been wise for the MDC to
participate in elections
under the present circumstances of rigging
elections by Mugabe, there are a
number of significant developments from the
results of the Budiriro
by-election.
The MDC under Morgan
Tsvangirai has proved it commands a decisive
support from Zimbabweans. The
party's organizational skills - especially
Tsvangirai's door-to-door
campaigning - was evidence that the MDC is gaining
consummate skills in
mobilizing the people.
Judging by recent revelations that ZANU PF
was planning to rig the
Budiriro election it appears the MDC victory was so
overwhelming that Mugabe
got cold feet in his attempts to secure a ZANU PF
victory. .
But Mugabe may also have had other motives for not rigging
the
elections completely. With the national mood now overwhelmingly in favor
of
mass action Mugabe is being hard pressed against the wall by rising
public
anger and a real prospect of mass action. So Mugabe might even have
thought
that, by not rigging this vote, he might calm down public anger and
gain
some breathing space.
It is highly probable that Mugabe's
attempt to rig elections was, more
than anything else, intended to give
Mugabe some semblance of support,
otherwise Mugabe's ZANU PF would have
matched Mutambara's MDC in the number
of votes they gained!
Mugabe and his ZANU PF are now feeling the rising anger of the
Zimbabweans.
They are shaking in their boots, really scared now, especially
with the
increasing number of disgruntled soldiers and police and CIO.
Mugabe is
suspicious of his own shadow!
As for the Mutambara's MDC, they are
now like an empty shell without
any substance at all. Public opinion against
them is on the rise. There now
seems to be a public political push to
relegate Mutambara and his officials
to the political trash bin of history.
Their attempts to get arrested and
sing their way out of jail did not earn
them the popularity they had hoped
for. There was no sympathy for them.
There were no crowds waiting for them
when they were released. And they were
no votes for them either.
Another very important outcome of the
Budiriro election was that the
existence of two candidates representing the
MDC did not confuse people at
all. The people were able to distinguish
between the Tsvangirai-led MDC and
the Mutambara-led MDC. This shows the
sophistication of the people of
Zimbabwe. The Mutambara rebel camp can cling
on to the name MDC in the hope
they will garner some semblance of
popularity. Well the Budiriro election
have proved them dead wrong. The
lesson here for Mutambara was simply that
hanging by the MDC coat tails will
not generate public support for them.
Mutambara and his group have a
right to form their own political party
and try their chances at the next
elections. But Mutambara's regrinding,
refocusing, and all that geek wifi
talk has simply shown how alien he is to
the Zimbabwean political
landscape.
Some people argue that MDC has been left very weak
because of the
split. But the Budiriro election has proved that this is far
from the truth.
Quite the contrary, MDC has emerged even stronger now. The
split appears to
have been a blessing in disguise for the MDC. It gave MDC
an opportunity to
rid itself of retrogressive elements.
The
Liberation Team that leads the MDC appears comprised of
visionaries, people
who have now selflessly invested all their energies in
the liberation of
Zimbabweans. This is what matters more than anything
else - that the party
be led by people who are dedicated to fight Mugabe to
the very last person.
If the MDC "Liberation Team" can maintain that
character they will be the
next post-Mugabe government.
Yet another important outcome of the
Budiriro election is the fact
that Budiriro may well be a microcosm of the
thinking of Zimbabweans
nationwide. Zimbabwe is now MDC's Budiriro. There is
no part of the country
that is a politically safe seat for Mugabe or
Mutambara. There has never
been!
The Budiriro election, coupled
with the nationwide sentiment, and
apparent readiness for, a mass protest
may signal that Zimbabweans are
moving to the frontlines of the struggle
against Mugabe and ZANU PF. This
major repositioning is being noticed from
outside Zimbabwe.
Even the failure of South Africa's quiet
diplomacy on Zimbabwe may
signal the beginning of a strategic rethink on the
part of Thabo Mbeki.
The remarks reportedly by South Africa's
deputy foreign minister Aziz
Pahad that deepening economic and political
crisis in Zimbabwe is adversely
affecting the economies of the region
represents the admission by the South
African government that Thabo Mbeki's
policy of quiet diplomacy has been a
dismal failure.
Now that the
dark clouds of political discontent are gathering
momentum in Zimbabwe South
Africa is suddenly realizing how Robert Mugabe's
disastrous policies in
Zimbabwe are damaging the region's effort at economic
development.
Ironically, Zimbabweans who are being denied
asylum in South Africa
are being told there is no evidence of a political
crisis on Zimbabwe.
Even Botswana now admits that the foot and
mouth disease in cattle,
and traceable to Zimbabwe, has shut off the country
from the lucrative
European market. South Africa is reeling under a heavy
influx of Zimbabwean
refugees, estimated at two to three million, or one
quarter of the
population of Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe is now an economic,
social and political liability to the
entire region. It has been for the
past six years. Mugabe's policies are
dragging the region into an uncertain
future. Zimbabwe's inflation rate of
1042 percent , for example, stands out
like a sore thumb. No other country
in SADC region, or in the world, has an
inflation as high as Zimbabwe's.
There are signs that the
Zimbabweans are about to wake up en masse
from the long sleep of
indifference at the desecration of their country by a
band of renegades led
by Robert Mugabe.
It is particularly surprising that South Africa is
only now admitting
what everyone has known for years. For several years
Thabo Mbeki's
government has been advised that its so called quiet diplomacy
would not
work. Mbeki has been urged several times to use South Africa's
political and
economic influence to bring pressure to bear on Mugabe. Had
Mbeki heeded
this advice and exerted pressure on Mugabe the situation in
Zimbabwe would
be significantly different today.
The same Mbeki
who once told the world to leave Zimbabweans alone to
deal with their
problems is now belatedly trying to involve SADC and the
African Union into
finding a solution to the Zimbabwean crisis. Mbeki is
also reportedly
looking to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to play a leading
role in
bringing about changes in Zimbabwe.
Many Zimbabweans have written
off Mbeki. He is too close to Mugabe to
be an honest broker. And not much
can be expected from him now that his term
of office ends in 2008. How much
can he realistically accomplish in two
years after his failure in the past
five years?
The burden is on Mbeki to prove to Zimbabweans that he, at
this late
hour can and will use whatever leverage he has on Mugabe to bring
about
significant changes towards reforms and democracy in
Zimbabwe.
It remains to be seen whether Mbeki has the will to use
whatever
leverage he has on Mugabe to push for a speedy resolution to the
conflict in
Zimbabwe.
Indications so far, notwithstanding Pahad's
statement, are that Mbeki
thinks he has done as much as he could on
Zimbabwe. But Mbeki, of course, is
also painfully aware that his reputation
and legacy will be determined by
how much he contributed towards changes in
Zimbabwe. He might well
experience a last-minute spiritual conversion that
will force him to make
sure he gets the Zimbabwean situation resolved before
he retires.
This is the same energy that is driving Kofi Annan,
whose term of
office is also coming to an end. Incidentally US President
Bush, who has
pleasantly surprised many people by the level of his active
engagement on
Zimbabwe and his relentless push for change, will also be
stepping down in
2008 after serving two terms in office Nigerian leader
Obasanjo is also
retiring from politics.
The year 2008 also marks
the date Mugabe is supposedly retiring from
politics, but for reasons
related to the crimes he has committed against
Zimbabweans, and his
inability so far to find a successor whom he can trust
to grant him
immunity, Mugabe looks set to drag on to 2010, if his health
will allow.
Mugabe will be 84 years old in 2008, and 86 years old in 2010.
These impending retirements are a form of pressure on Mugabe. But they
may
not be enough to secure the needed changes for the embattled
Zimbabweans.
According to Pahad South Africa is consulting with
SADC and African
Union leaders to work out a solution to the Zimbabwean
crisis.
But SADC leaders have embraced Mugabe and protected him from
international criticism. Even with the admission now of how much Mugabe's
domestic policies are wreaking havoc on the region's economies. Malawi's
president Bingu waMutharika has gone as far as renaming a road in Malawi
after Mugabe despite widespread opposition from
Malawians.
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe
news
By Violet
Gonda
22 May 2006
It's reported that Tineyi Mukwewa, the
president of the UZ Student
Representative Council (SRC) was arrested Monday
morning by police from the
Harare CID law and order section
An
emailed report that came late Monday from another student leader
Washington
Katema says Tineyi was picked at the campus in connection with
the
demonstrations that rocked Bindura University of Science Education
(BUSE)
two weeks ago.
The protests were against the unaffordable new fees
structure
introduced by the government in February. Scores of students were
arrested
and some allegedly tortured while they were in police
custody.
Katema said this latest arrest follows an article that
appeared in the
state controlled Herald saying the Mashonaland Central
provincial
spokesperson Inspector Michael Munyikwa had deployed a team to
look for
Mukwewa and also Givemore Chari the SRC president at BUSE and
Promise
Mkwananzi the Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU)
President.
Katema said, "ZINASU condemns the wanton, brutal and
barbarously
vicious violation of our academic freedoms by the 'government'
of today. The
vision for 'education for all' has transmogrified into a
melodramatic
nightmare. Education is not for sale."
SW Radio
Africa Zimbabwe news
zimbabwejournalists.com
By Ian Nhuka in Bulawayo
Sixty students
from Bulawayo Polytechnic have withdrawn from the
college since the
beginning of the year after failing to raise $30
million (about £84) in
fees. College principal, Dr Temba Ndlovu said the 60
could not pay the fees
for the first term and as such, did not return to
college for the current
term.
"We have a total of 3, 041 students ---- but our records
indicate that
60 students have dropped out because they failed to raise
college
fees," he said, briefing a parliamentary portfolio committee on
education.
In startling revelations which show how Zimbabwe's much
hyped success
in education is being reversed by the prevailing economic
meltdown, Dr
Ndlovu said students were struggling to raise tuition fees,
resulting in
some dropping out of college.
The revelations are
microcosmic of the general dire situation in
the country as the general
public struggles to make ends meet because
of the economic decay reflected
in the world's highest inflation of 1.042
percent, foreign currency
shortages, high unemployment and company closures.
Critics blame
President Mugabe's disastrous policies for ruining the
once robust
economy, but he says his opponents at home and abroad are
sabotaging his
26-year rule. Dr Ndlovu said college authorities have devised
a strategy
that allows students to clear the arrears by the end of this
month.
"We don't chase anyone for failing to pay fees. We told
the students
to clear the balance of last term by the end of this month and
also pay up
this term's fees by the end of July. What we want is for the
students to pay
something so that they are not under pressure in raising the
required
amount," he said.
Colleges are already in the middle
of the second term and fees for the
first term should ordinarily have been
paid by the end of that term.
Addressing his alumnus during a colourful
fund-raising event for Kutama Old
Boys' Association in Harare last Friday,
President Mugabe spoke against the
soaring fees. He attempted to blame
school and college authorities for
charging astronomical fees saying schools
and colleges should take into
account that some parents are poor and will
struggle to pay.
"We can pay yes, but when we think of the ordinary
person, how many
parents can afford to pay?" he was quoted as saying.
Recently, he signed
into law the Education Amendment Act, which provides for
the charging of
fees and levies in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI)
as published by
the Central Statistical Office. This was an attempt by his
government to
curb run-away school and college fees.
Under the
Act, every school should apply to the Secretary of Education
for approval
before raising fees or levies. But the CPI has also been rising
as inflation
escalates. The high college fees come amid declining government
support for
students who get as little as $2,2 million per term in State
loans.
The opposition Movement for Democratic Change has
consistently
criticised the government for superintending the economic
downturn,
saying any modest gains realised in education since independence
are now
being undone. Recently, MDC Member of Parliament for Chitungwiza,
Fidelis
Mhashu who also chairs the parliamentary portfolio committee on
education
lambasted authorities for creating an economic environment that is
hostile
to education.
He said he sympathised with the students
and their parents in the
predicament. He added that while education is
a human right,
President Mugabe was denying thousands of children "something
they must be
guaranteed of at birth."
By Lance Guma
22 May 2006
After getting
a fresh mandate from workers in the country the
leadership of the main
labour body, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions
(ZCTU) has threatened
strike action over poor working conditions. The Union's
President Lovemore
Matombo and Secretary General Wellington Chibhebhe were
re-elected at a
weekend congress in Harare. In an interview with Newsreel on
Monday ZCTU
spokesman Mlamleli Sibanda says although they will give dialogue
with
government a chance, time was running out and they might have to resort
to
strike action very soon. He says workers, employers and unions are not
making any progress in the Tripartite Negotiating Forum.
The
plight of farm workers also came under the spotlight during the
two day
congress. It was resolved that all the other unions will rally
behind the
General Plantation and Farm Workers Union if they plan any
strikes over
conditions on the farms. Sibanda told Newsreel that farm
workers are getting
Z$1 million a month in wages and that this was the
equivalent of 10 loaves
of bread. Meanwhile the High Court ruled on Friday
that the deportation of
ZCTU delegates during the week was illegal. Several
international delegates
to the congress were deported last week under
instruction from the Ministry
of Labour. The court dealt with the case of
Alice Siame from Zambia and
another Norwegian delegate Nina Mjoberg, but
remained silent on the
deportation of COSATU Secretary General Zwelinzima
Vavi.
Full
list of ZCTU leadership:
President: Lovemore Matombo
First
Vice President: Lucia Matibenga
Second Vice President: George
Nkiwane
Third Vice President: Thabitha Khumalo
Secretary
General: Wellington Chibhebhe
First Deputy SG: Japhet Moyo
Second Deputy SG: Gideon Shoko
Treasurer: Ester
Khumbulani
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
zimbabwejournalists.com
By a
Correspondent
MUTARE - CHIEF Mutambara's half brothers, who
publicly denounced
Arthur Mutambara and his MDC faction at a recent rally
addressed by Morgan
Tsvangirai, have been dragged before a traditional court
facing charges for
dabbling in opposition politics.
The two,
Phiabion Musukutwa (80) and Vhaisai Munjoma (79), were
accused of being
activists of the mainstream MDC faction led by Tsvangirai.
They were ordered
to pay five beasts each as fines for their purported
"crimes". Two weeks ago
the two told about 15 000 people at Chisamba Grounds
in Sakubva that the
Mutambara clan were unhappy with their son Arthur for
leading a rival MDC
faction. They told a cheering crowd their clan was fully
behind
Tsvangirai.
Musukutwa and Munjoma also received a gift on behalf of Roy
Bennet,
former MP for Chimanimani, now seeking asylum in South
Africa.
This, apparently, irked Chief Mutambara, who immediately
summoned the
two to appear before his traditional court.
The two
elderly men appeared before Chief Mutambara, Jana Chinenzura,
a known ruling
party activist. It has since turned out Musukutwa and Munjoma
were hauled
before the tradition court at the instigation of the Chimaninami
District
Admistrator and the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO).
However, the two refused to pay the fines and immediately applied to
the
community courts seeking their assistance to set aside the traditional
court
ruling. Pishai Muchauraya, the MDC spokesman in Manicaland, said they
were
concerned by Chief Mutamabra's conduct.
"As a party we would like to
condemn this as an act of barbarism and
the worst form of oppression," said
Muchauraya. "We also like to warn chiefs
against being used as mediums of
oppression."
Chief Mutambara told journalists last week that he was a
Zanu PF
activist and did not tolerate anybody who supports the opposition
MDC.
"I am a very strong Zanu PF cadre and I am very proud of
that," Chief
Mutambara declared last week. "I want everybody to know that I
am the Chief
and the only one who can speak about issues pertaining to the
Mutambara
clan."
Traditional chiefs in Zimbabwe are known to be
very loyal to the
ruling party. In previous elections they played very
active roles in
mobilising support for Zanu PF in the rural areas, perceived
to be ruling
party strongholds.